REGINA — Ismael Bamba wants to follow in the footsteps of another former member of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux.
Bamba, a wide receiver, was selected by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the sixth round (39th overall) of Thursday’s CFL draft from the Universite de Sherbrooke Vert et Or.
Before he played at Sherbrooke, however, Bamba was at UND for three seasons. During his recruiting visit to that school, he met Fighting Sioux star Weston Dressler — who’s set to begin his fifth season with the Roughriders.
“I watched him play before I even committed to UND,” said Bamba, a 24-year-old product of Ivory Coast whose family moved to Montreal when Ismael was four.“He’s a tremendous player, really explosive, and I’m going to try to contribute to this team like he does now.”
Dressler has set the bar pretty high. The CFL’s most outstanding rookie in 2008 has exceeded 1,000 yards receiving in three of his four seasons in Saskatchewan and is one of the league’s most dangerous receivers.
The Roughriders don’t expect Bamba to step in as a rookie and contribute like Dressler did, but the Vert et Or star was ranked third among receivers going into the CFL draft.
The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder had 40 receptions for 543 yards and four touchdowns for Sherbrooke in 2011. He also returned 12 kickoffs for 310 yards and a touchdown and 18 punts for 208 yards with one major.
Despite being ranked 11th in the final CFL Scouting Bureau pre-draft rankings, Bamba was the 39th pick. Roughriders general manager Brendan Taman said Thursday that Bamba was high on the team’s board so, when he was still available in the sixth round, Saskatchewan pounced.
“He actually is very good,” Taman said. “I got some notes right when we picked him that some other teams were trying to (trade) up to get him.”
While Bamba said he didn’t care where he was selected, he admitted it stung a bit when his draft position didn’t match his ranking.
“But the rankings aren’t something I really looked at because you never know what the coaches think of you,” said Bamba, who has one year of CIS eligibility remaining. “I really don’t care about dropping in the charts, but if anything, it’s something I have to take a lesson from and keep going.”
Asked if he was driven by dropping in the draft, Bamba replied: “I was motivated even before that.”
“Even if you get picked in the first round, you still have something to prove because it’s a different league,” he said. “For me, getting picked in the sixth round is kind of late, but I’m really happy to be with this organization and I’ll try to prove they made a really good decision to pick me.”
Kevin Regimbald-Gagne has the same goal.
After selecting the Vert et Or linebacker in the fifth round (35th overall) on Thursday, Taman suggested the Roughriders would look at the 6-foot-1, 215-pounder primarily on special teams — and Regimbald-Gagne said he’d be more than happy to do that job.
“I’m a good linebacker, but I’m better on special teams,” said the 24-year-old product of Rouyn-Noranda, Que. “For my first season with Sherbrooke, I played a lot of special teams and for my entire career, too.
“Joining the Roughriders as a special-teams player, it’s a good chance for me to make my name and do good things — and hopefully after (a while), I get a chance to play on the defence.”
Regimbald-Gagne was named a first-team CIS All-Canadian in 2011 after registering 40 solo tackles, 15 assists, three sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries for the Vert et Or. He’s also a two-time Quebec conference all-star.
Regimbald-Gagne has a year of CIS eligibility remaining, but he hopes to stick with the Roughriders in 2012.
He already has heard a lot about Saskatchewan from Roughriders punter-kicker Chris Milo, whom Regimbald-Gagne played against (when Milo was with the Laval Rouge et Or) and with (in the CIS’s East West Bowl).
“He gave me a call right after the draft and told me about the Rider Nation,” Regimbald-Gagne said. “It’s going to be a good experience to play with this team.”
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